BarryH

^^No Barney for me, thank you. Besides, why waste a perfectly good Universal Express pass on it?

A few weeks ago, I wrote this angry letter to Universal Orlando: Dear Guest Services: I am writing to you today to express my displeasure at a Team Member who works the Men in Black: Alien Attack attraction. I visited Universal Orlando on December 29, 2005 as a solo traveler. At around 8:30 am, I decided to ride the Men in Black: Alien Attack attraction. Although the posted wait was 5 minutes, I decided to use the single riders line as I always do. The Team Members directed me to the next available ride vehicle. I happened to be the only person in that vehicle. As I was boarding the vehicle, I heard a Team Member say to me, “So you’re alone? That’s kind of sad and pathetic!” I wasn’t able to see his name tag, but I recall he had a deep voice and I believe he wore glasses. I found his statement to be rude and very insulting. Many of my friends love the Men in Black ride and regularly utilize the single riders line. Because they will become solo riders, are they sad and pathetic also? Additionally, I could have rode alone because my family and friends did not want to ride or they wanted to experience another attraction. I wanted to ride the attraction again, but because of the Team Member’s insulting comments, I felt humiliated and lost my desire to experience the ride again. I found the Team Member’s statement very odd, since the majority of Universal Orlando Team Members have been nothing sort of courteous and respectful. Before I rode Men in Black: Alien Attack, I experienced Jaws. I was the only one in the boat and the skipper Javier welcome me enthusiastically about the ride. After my Men in Black ride, I went on Back to the Future: The Ride. The Team Members at that ride were friendly and welcomed me to the attraction. Previously I have grown accustomed to such great service and superior ride operations that this remark entirely caught me off-guard. I am sure that these policies are frowned upon and a proper course of action will be taken to remedy the matter. Sincerely, Barry Hom ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Today, I got a reply! Here it is: Mr. Hom, Thank you for taking the time to visit Universal Orlando and share your concerns. We are committed to providing the greatest entertainment experience to all our guests and I was disappointed to learn that this was not true in your case. I am appalled that one of our team members would make such a comment. It is our belief that our guests should be treated with the utmost respect. We make every effort to train our team members to assist our guests in a professional and courteous manner. Thank you for bringing this to our attention. Please be advised that the Attractions Operations Manager was notified immediately following your report. He assures me that he has re-emphasized to his entire team the importance of guest service and addressed this issue with the individual team member. I apologize that this situation has darkened your view of our parks. Because I hope you will return, I have arranged for you to receive a Guest Assistance Pass for you and your party up to six (6). This pass will permit you and your party to enter our Universal Express lines, significantly decreasing your wait times. To receive this pass, please present this original letter at our Guest Services office on the day of your next visit. As our guest, your comments are very important. It is through comments such as yours that we are able to determine what areas need improvement. I look forward to your return. Best regards, Robi Robichaux Guest Services Universal Orlando ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- I'm pretty satisified and consider the matter closed. OK, now where do I find 5 other warm bodies to join me?

Or Rita... Anyway, I hope to ride this on TPR's Japan trip 2007. *cough* I hope there will be one. *cough*

OK, I'm going to give R&E's photos a rest for a moment... What's up with this?

I've wanted to write a song called "Credit Whore" to the tune of "Skater Boi," but alas, I have to work for a living.

They are at the Colorado Belle Hotel and Casino in Laughlin, NV. I don't think they are going to any amusement or theme parks this trip since they have Elissa's pappy Mr. White along for the ride. The Colorado Belle Hotel and Casino: http://www.coloradobelle.com/ According to Mapquest.com, north of Laughlin, NV is Las Vegas. There's also the Mojave National Preserve to the west. Since they went to the Grand Canyon, perhaps they are looking at natural wonders this trip?

"Typical Alvey foolishness"

You bet they are on the moon! Imagine airtime in zero-g! There are some kiddie coasters there too.

What if there was a ride on RCT called "Guy T. Koepp?" A peep could say, "I'm too scared to ride Guy T. Koepp!"

After scrutinizing the clues and photos, I have finally figured out where Robb and Elissa are. Here is a photo of their location...

What's up with this?

I now have today's caption game photo! I still say Robb and Elissa are somewhere between the northern U.S. Canadian border and the Florida keys.

^I see HHN and HOS as two sides of the same coin. If you like one, you'll probably like the other. They both do similar things, but differently.

Didn't R&E just come back from a trip and they are travelling again? Man, you ought to be glad you don't have my mom. She complains about my trips to Orlando, and I take one every 3-4 months! I will make a guess on where they are... They are in the U.S., somewhere between Washington state and the Florida keys. So what do I win?

I think AAA has packages for multiple Fast Pass usage. If you don't want to spend the mula, the legal way to hold multiple Fast Passes is to get a FP from a disconnected FP machine. A disconnected FP machine is one that is off the network. There are a few of them at DL and DCA, most of which I don't recall. I know Roger Rabbit's Cartoon Spin is a disconnected FP machine. Muppetvision and Grizzly Rapids Run are off the network too. So if you hold a FP for, say, Splash Mountain, you can get a FP for Roger Rabbit without waiting for your Splash Mountain FP window to expire.

Here's my video of Busch Gardens Tampa's Halloween event, Howl-O-Scream, from 2005. You will see Scare-actors, shows, and screaming teenage girls! The link is: http://s61.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=2VOZ13MPUUEJF0OXSOGLVP6CIE Enjoy!

I've been on the following floorless: Medusa (SFGAdv) Kraken (Sea World Orlando) Scream (SFMM) Batman: Knight Flight (SFWOA) The Best is Batman: KF. If you sit in the back row, you get this whip sensation as you turn around and go down the first drop! I haven't encountered that sensation in any other floorless. It may be called Dominator now, but it will always be Batman: KF to me. The worst: Scream! Can you say, "Boring?"

Half day tickets generally go from a certain time to close, like 4 pm to close or 5 pm to close.

Knott's has an after 4 pm ticket option for $22.50: http://www.knotts.com/park/guest/ticket.shtml SFMM doesn't have a half day ticket option, but they have a current offer of $29.99 admission through March 2006. That probably won't help you if you're going in September.

Although this may not happen, I'm personally hoping for a wooden roller coaster in Jurassic Park. Disney's Animal Kingdom had an idea for a coaster called the Excavator, which would have had mine theming and you would dive in and out of caves. That would be a good idea for JP's wooden coaster. Otherwise, we will have to settle for "Guy T. Koepp: The Ride."

I bet that Robb and Elissa are planning a trip to Finland, just to ride this weird Boomerang.

"Balsamic chicken is made out of people, of people!"

It sure is funky. I'm too sleepy to caption it. My diabetes medication is making me sleepy.

What's up with this?

There used to be a flat ride across from the Python that was called the Monstrous Mamba. It was like the Monster ride at Cedar Point. Now it's a restaurant.